On the motion of the Legal Affairs Committee, the Bill on Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (291 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was rejected at the first reading. 52 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion to reject and 39 members voted against. Thus the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceeding.

The Act on Amendments to the State Pension Insurance Act and Other Associated Acts (248 SE), initiated by the Government, was passed with 83 votes in favour. The aim of the amendments is to resolve the problems which have arisen in granting state pensions, allowances and benefits, as well as technical issues which do not involve contentual amendments. The Act provides the regulation of the giving of testimony by witnesses for certification of years of pensionable service, regulates the transfer of persons receiving an early-retirement pension to another type of pension, provides a more favourable basis of the calculation of the pension qualifying period for receiving a pension for incapacity for work for persons who are disabled since childhood, amends the provisions concerning the payment of pensions on the basis of international agreements, establishes the use of the population register data upon certification of years of pensionable service, and amends the provisions concerning the chief processor of the state pension insurance register and the state pension insurance register. In the Parental Benefits Act, the payment of the parental benefit in the case of a punishment imposed on a parent by a court is specified. The National Social Insurance Board is defined as the single administrative authority of the social sphere. This Act enters into force on 1 January 2013; some provisions enter into force on 1 May 2013.

The Act on Amendments to the Law of Obligations Act (266 SE), initiated by the Government, which transposes into Estonian law the relevant European Commission directive which prompted the amendments specifying the rules for the calculation of the annual percentage rate, was passed with 55 votes in favour. In the Estonian market, the amendments proposed by the Act affect above all charge credit cards and fixed-payment credit cards. The existence of uniform and specified rules enables to calculate the annual percentage rate of charge on uniform bases and in a uniform manner in all twenty seven member states of the European Union. 19 members of the Riigikogu voted against the Act. This Act enters into force on 1 March 2013.

The Act on Amendments to the Traffic Act, the Public Health Act and the Medicinal Products Act (257 SE), initiated by the Government, the purpose of which is to create a legal basis for transferring the role of the chief processor of the prescription centre from the Ministry of Social Affairs to the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, was passed with 70 votes in favour. According to the current law, the Ministry of Social Affairs is the chief processor; however, it has no direct connection with the daily work of the prescription centre. In addition, the Act specifies the obligation of providers of pharmacy services to enter the data concerning a prescription issued on paper to the prescription centre immediately after receipt of a prescription. According to the current law, data have to be entered within three working days as of receipt of a prescription. The initiator stated that such a time criterion has caused submission of false information to the prescription centre. The amendments also postpone by one year the regulation according to which a family physician or a traffic medicine committee would have to forward the data of the medical certificate of a driver of a power-driven vehicle and an applicant for the right to drive to the Road Administration online via the health information system. According to the amendment submitted, this provision enters into force on 19 January 2014.

The Resolution “Increasing of the Holding of the Republic of Estonia in the European Investment Bank” (285 OE), initiated by the Government, by which the Riigikogu grants its consent to increasing the holding of the Republic of Estonia in the European Investment Bank by 7 138 000 euro, was passed with 51 votes in favour. The Government of the Republic is authorised to perform the acts necessary to increase the holding. 5 members of the Riigikogu voted against the Resolution and 3 members of the Riigikogu abstained.

At 6.50 p.m., the Riigikogu started the second reading of the State Budget of 2013 Bill (278 SE), initiated by the Government. The revenue of the state budget of 2013 is planned to amount to ca 7.5 billion euro, and the expenditure ‒ to ca 7.7 billion euro. A total of 100 motions to amend the Bill had been submitted for the second reading, none of which had found support in the Committee. The Finance Committee had made one amendment to the Bill, mainly concerning technical specifications in the areas of government of ministries.

The Riigikogu Press Service